A few days less than three weeks from now, Nov. 1, will mark the 63rd anniversary of the founding of the Florida Elks Children's Hospital in Umatilla.The idea originated in the fertile mind of David Sholtz of Daytona Beach, past grand exalted ruler of the Florida Elks, who was to be a successful candidate for governor of Florida the following year.It was an idea whose time had come. The Florida Elks had no single humanitarian project behind which all could gather, and there was no place where crippled children in Florida could get the help they needed without charge.

Genevieve Conroy is trying to bring hospitality-style people skills as chief experience officer at Broward Health Medical Center, Chris Evert Children's Hospital. She's been in the position at the Fort Lauderdale hospital about three months and though the medical industry is new ground for Conroy, working with people isn't. She was regional director, sales, marketing and service for The Ritz-Carlton. She's bringing "best practices learned at The Ritz-Carlton — basically, a proven success formula to not just meet the patients' expectations, but anticipate a patient's needs before they even ask," says Conroy.

It has taken two years, dozens of staff members and consultants, untold hours and significant financial resources to write the next sentence: Nemours will build a children's hospital in Orlando. Now we can come together to celebrate this next step in our region's success. We can join hands and determine how best to serve our children and their families. We can plan for jobs that will come, research that will occur, partnerships that will happen. It is an amazing thing to know that families will one day travel to Orlando for groundbreaking pediatric care.

A new, freestanding children's hospital in the Richmond area is financially feasible and would be supported by the market, according to a study presented this week to local health care providers. The report by management consulting firm Kurt Salmon envisions a $500 million, 200-bed hospital. It would be an independent nonprofit governed by a 15-member board of directors. The report provides backing for a group of pediatricians and other health professionals in the area who have sought community support for a full-service hospital strictly for pediatric care.

UMATILLA - The Florida Elks Children's Hospital, which has cared for needy children from throughout the state for 65 years and inspired the Florida Citrus Bowl football game in Orlando, will close its doors by January.About 90 full- and part-time employees will lose their jobs, and about 27 children may have to complete their rehabilitation at an outpatient facility, officials said Wednesday.Declining admissions, changes in health care and competition from the Nemours Children's Clinic in Orlando contributed to the closure, officials said.

The Nemours Foundation turned up the heat and the speed Monday on its plans to build a children's hospital in Orlando. The Jacksonville-based foundation announced it would seek a state license this spring, rather than later this year, and hired a lobbyist to talk with the Legislature should its license application run into opposition from the region's two major hospital chains. Florida Hospital joined Orlando Regional Healthcare on Monday in arguing that another children's hospital is not needed in Central Florida.

Six Nemours Clinic doctors have switched allegiance to Orlando Regional Healthcare, the Central Florida hospital system announced Wednesday. The group of pediatric orthopedic surgeons, led by Dr. Chad Price, have joined the Medical Education Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Orlando Regional's downtown campus. The main reason for the group's switch is to help expand the teaching hospital's ability to train more orthopedic surgeons, said Price, who has practiced in Orlando for 28 years.

WALESKA, Ga. -- A 5-year-old girl died after being shot in the head by her 3-year-old brother, who found a gun in their parents' bedroom. Morgan King was pronounced dead Sunday after being airlifted to Children's Hospital of Atlanta, said Cpl. Nicole Ebbeskotte of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office. The children's mother was home at the time of the shooting, which happened about 2 p.m. It is unlikely any criminal charges will be filed, Ebbeskotte said.

Allegations that children died because of inadequate care at Orlando Regional Medical Center have prompted a major shake-up at the hospital that threatens its affiliation with the University of Florida and targets it for investigation by a national accreditation agency.Hospital officials strongly deny the allegations made by doctors who trained at ORMC. They also say the death rate among children is lower than the national average, that an internal review uncovered no problems with patient care and that no parents have alleged malpractice in cases that have been cited.

BRADENTON -- A 2-year-old boy who was bitten by a rattlesnake while playing in his own back yard remained hospitalized Saturday. Derrick Lema was with his father who was watering their lawn when the boy was bitten by the diamondback rattlesnake Friday. The toddler was airlifted to All Children's Hospital for treatment and was later listed in serious condition. He was still hospitalized Saturday, but hospital officials said his condition was not being made public. The boy was bitten in the leg. Authorities estimated the snake was about 3 1/2 feet long.

LA HABRA, Calif. ( KTLA ) -- A woman accused of throwing her 7-month-old son to his death from a hospital parking structure pleaded not guilty Wednesday. Sonia Hermosillo, 31, of La Habra is charged with murder and child abuse in the death of Noe Medina Jr. Baby Noe was critically injured after falling from the fourth floor of the parking structure at Children's Hospital in Orange on August 22. He died a week later after being taken off life support. Hermosillo is accused of driving her son to the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC)

Two children's hospitals in Orlando recently announced the opening of new or expanded facilities. The Walt Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital for Children last week opened its new Disney-themed lobby, a nature-inspired setting that features interactive activities for children. In September 2007, Florida Hospital announced a $10 million commitment from the Walt Disney World Resort and Disney Worldwide Outreach for construction of the new pavilion. Construction and renovations of treatment units and patient rooms is expected to be completed by early 2011.

Popular children's author and illustrator David Shannon put out a book last year that made kids laugh and their parents cry. The book, "Too Many Toys," tells the story of a boy named Spencer who floats happily around his house on a cascading river of toys. But when his dad steps on a Lego piece in his bare feet (ouch!) and his mom trips over race cars while doing the laundry (youch!), they decide that Spencer has too many toys. And so begins an epic negotiation in which Spencer tells his mom he cannot relinquish any toys.

WASHINGTON - "Bo, ho, ho" was the message Tuesday when first lady Michelle Obama and her daughters made a pre- Christmas visit to a children's hospital. With them was the family's Portuguese water dog, who, in this rarest of public outings, had no formal remarks-just barks and rebarks disrupting the first lady's reading of "A Visit From St. Nicholas." "He hasn't seen Santa before," she told an audience at the Children's National Medical Center, explaining Bo's antics. The two daughters took turns reading Caralyn Buehner's "Snowmen at Night" before joining a question-and-answer session.

Before celebrating their invitation to the St. Petersburg Bowl, UCF coach George O'Leary took his starters to Florida Hospital for Children on Tuesday to greet patients and hand out Knights gear. O'Leary said every year during his career as a head coach he has taken his team to a children's hospital between Thanksgiving and Christmas. On the bus ride to the hospital, O'Leary said there typically is a lot of chatter. "On the way back, you can hear a pin drop," he said. "I think it's an eye opener for them to come over to the children's hospital to see youngsters."

Your 8-year-old might not like the idea of using a safety booster seat in the car, but research released this week by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which studied more than 7,000 children ages 4 to 8 involved in real-world crashes, has some powerful evidence that it's a good idea. The study says children ages 4 to 8 who are restrained in the rear seat of a car in a belt-positioning booster seat are 45 percent less likely to be injured in a crash, compared with children buckled in by a seat belt alone.

University of North Carolina freshman Karekin Cunningham, who was a defensive standout for Georgia in its 38-32 victory over Florida in June, wrote to the nurses at Florida Elks Children's Hospital to put the game in proper perspective.''I was very fortunate to have been able to play in the Florida-Georgia All-Star Football Game,'' Cunningham wrote. ''The experience I gained in my participation will be invaluable, especially in college. The greatest part of the trip, however, took place far from the football field.

An intense search has turned up a foster or group home for a 6-year-old boy charged with attempting to kill a Richmond, Calif., infant, officials announced at a court hearing. Pressure has been strong from all sides of the case to get the boy, possibly the youngest in the nation charged with such a crime, out of Juvenile Hall. But he won't be moved until after psychiatrists at Children's Hospital in Oakland finish evaluating him. Their report is due June 5.

In the latest effort to prevent the spread of swine flu, Florida Hospital officials have unveiled a new strategy: Effective immediately, they're asking that children younger than 12 stay home -- and avoid going to the hospital to visit patients. "We're trying to stay ahead of any problems that may develop," said Dr. Clifford Selsky, chairman of pediatrics at Florida Hospital for Children. Although hospital officials will not ban all visits from kids, they are designating some areas of hospitals off-limits to visitors younger than 12. At Florida Hospital for Children, where kids undergoing chemotherapy and those with asthma or sickle-cell anemia are at high risk for complications of swine flu, no visitors younger than 12 will be allowed.

A new, environmentally green children's hospital designed with input from kids and parents began construction Thursday at the burgeoning "medical city" at Lake Nona. The 630,000-square-foot Nemours Children's Hospital will include 95 beds and serve as the core of a 60-acre pediatric health campus featuring a children's clinic, emergency department, and diagnostic and ambulatory programs along with education and research centers. Nemours plans to open the $380 million hospital in 2012. "From the very outset, we were not looking to create just another children's hospital," said Bill Winder, Nemours Florida senior administrator.